Shoelace tightened with ease

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a shoelace which passes through the eyelets formed on a shoe and both ends of which are knotted after such passage, wherein the portions of the shoelace that need to be drawn during shoelace tying or after the shoelace has been knotted, in order to tighten the knot which might otherwise become loose, can be visually checked.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a shoelace wherein a knot can be easily tightened during the shoelace is knotted or when the knot is tightened again after becomes loose. The present invention relates to a shoelace wherein portions needed to be pulled on a knot can be visually checked during the knot is formed or when the knot is tightened again after becomes loose.

BACKGROUND ART

Most of footwear including athletic shoes and other type shoes has a configuration wherein a shoelace is tied to the instep portion thereof so as to provide stable wearing feeling to a user and to prevent the shoe from being taken off.

Such shoelace is generally formed of a string woven by a fiber material and has a shape of a flat strip or round string.

So as to wash or repair the shoe, the knot formed on the shoelace is untied and removed from the shoe, thus allowing the interior of the shoe to be easily accessed by a user or repairer's hand.

After that, the shoelace is tied to the shoe in such a manner as to be passed through the eyelets formed on the instep portion of the shoe and knotted on both end portions thereof.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a general shoe to which a shoelace is tied, wherein both end portions of the shoelace are knotted.

So as to tie a shoelace 1 to a shoe 10, the intermediate portion of the shoelace 1 is located between the two lowermost eyelets 11 a among the eyelets 11 (or hooks) formed in two rows on the instep portion of the shoe 10, and next, both end portions of the shoelace 1 are passed longitudinally and transversely through the neighboring eyelets.

Lastly, both end portions of the shoelace 1 are knotted to each other, thus completing the tying of the shoelace 1 to the shoe 10.

After the shoelace 1 has been tied to the shoe 10, on the other hand, a knot 1 a formed by both end portions of the shoelace 1 has two ring portions 1 b and two linear portions (leftover end portions) 1 c.

In this case, each ring portion 1 b is divided into a portion 1 b-1 corresponding to the portion inserted into the uppermost eyelet 11 b and a portion 1 b-2 corresponding to the linear portion 1 c.

So as to rigidly tighten the knot 1 a after both end portions of the shoelace 1 have been knotted to each other, the portions 1 b-1 of the two ring portions 1 b corresponding to the portions inserted into the uppermost eyelets 11 b are taken and pulled outwardly from the shoe 10 by means of the user.

Due to the formation of the knot 1 a, however, it is hard to distinguish the portions 1 b-1 of the two ring portions 1 b of the knot 1 a corresponding to the portions inserted into the uppermost eyelets 11 b from the portions 1 b-2 corresponding to the two linear portions 1 c of the knot 1 a.

Under this condition, if the portions 1 b-2 corresponding to the two linear portions 1 c of the knot 1 a are taken and pulled outwardly from the shoe 10 by means of the user, the knot 1 a is untied, and accordingly, the shoelace 1 should be inconveniently knotted again.

On the other hand, if an external force is applied to the shoelace 1 in the state where the shoelace 1 has been tied to the shoe 10 or after the shoe 10 has been worn for long hours, the knot 1 a becomes naturally loose. If the knot 1 a becomes loose, the user feels uncomfortable, and further, the shoe 10 may be taken off. Accordingly, the knot 1 a of the shoelace 1 becomes tightened by the user.

Even in case of the loose knot 1 a is tightened again, it is hard to check whether any portions of the two ring portions 1 b of the knot 1 a correspond to the portions inserted into the uppermost eyelets 11 b due to the formation of the knot 1 a, and under such condition, if the two ring portions 1 b are taken and pulled, without any intention, there is a high possibility wherein the knot 1 a becomes untied.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a shoelace wherein only portions needed to be pulled on a knot can be visually checked when the knot is for the first time tightened after shoe wearing or when the knot is tightened again after becomes loose.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a shoelace that is capable of being conveniently and rapidly tightened in the process of being tied to a shoe, without having any possibility wherein the shoelace becomes loose or untied.

Technical Solution

To accomplish the above-mentioned objects, according to the present invention, there is provided a shoelace that is passed through a plurality of eyelets formed on a shoe and then knotted on both end portions thereof to form a knot, the shoelace including identification portions formed on given regions of both end portions thereof, wherein the portions on two ring portions of the knot corresponding to the portions inserted into the two uppermost eyelets of the shoe are visually recognized by means of the identification portions.

According to the present invention, preferably, the identification portions are formed along one side peripheral surface or the whole peripheral surface on the given regions of both end portions of the shoelace.

According to the present invention, preferably, the identification portions are visually distinguished from both end portions of the shoelace through colors or designs.

According to the present invention, preferably, the shoelace further includes an auxiliary identification portion formed on the center thereof, thus giving another convenience in the process of for the first time tying the shoelace to the shoe.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, the portions of the two ring portions of the knot corresponding to the portions inserted into the two uppermost eyelets of the shoe can be visually checked when the knot is for the first time tightened after shoe wearing or when the knot is tightened again after becomes loose, so that they are taken and pulled outwardly from the shoe, thus easily, conveniently and firmly tightening the knot.

When the shoelace is for the first time tied to the shoe, further, the positioning of the auxiliary identification portion between the two lowermost eyelets of the shoe can be visually checked by the user, thus easily forming the balanced knot.

In addition, only the portions needed to be pulled in the two ring portions of the knot can be visually checked when the knot is for the first time tightened after shoe wearing or when the knot is tightened again after becomes loose, so that the portions needed to be pulled are taken and pulled outwardly from the shoe, thus easily, conveniently and firmly tightening the knot.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a general shoe to which a shoelace is tied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a shoelace according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a shoe to which the shoelace of FIG. 2 is tied.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a shoelace according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a shoe to which the shoelace of FIG. 4 is tied.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the tightening state of the shoelace according to the present invention.

MODE FOR INVENTION

Hereinafter, an explanation on a shoelace according to the present invention will be in detail given with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a shoelace according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A shoelace 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is made of various materials, for example, a fiber material and has a shape of a flat strip or round string.

The shoelace 100 has a given length and includes both end portions 120 and 130 exposed after passing through the uppermost eyelets of a shoe.

On the other hand, both end portions 120 and 130 have compressed portions 121 and 131 formed on the front ends thereof, on which a hard member is wound, so that they can be gently passed through the eyelets of the shoe.

Further, both end portions 120 and 130 of the shoelace 100 have identification portions 122 and 132 formed on given regions thereof.

The identification portions 122 and 132 may be formed along one side peripheral surface on the given regions of both end portions 120 and 130, and otherwise, the identification portions 122 and 132 may be formed along the whole outer peripheral surface on the given regions of both end portions 120 and 130.

The identification portions 122 and 132 can be visually recognized through their color and/or design.

That is, the identification portions 122 and 132 may be formed of the fiber material having different colors from both end portions 120 and 130 of the shoelace 100, and otherwise, they may be formed by coating different color paints from both end portions 120 and 130 thereonto.

According to the present invention, the shoelace is capable of allowing the portions of two ring portions constituting a knot corresponding to the portions inserted into the two uppermost eyelets of the shoe to be visually recognized.

According to the present invention, the identification portions 122 and 132 are formed on only the portions needed to be pulled from the two ring portions made upon the formation of the knot.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a shoe to which the shoelace of FIG. 2 is tied, wherein the shoelace 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is tied to a shoe 10 having a plurality of eyelets 11 formed in two rows on the instep portion of the shoe 10.

In FIG. 3, the shoe 10 is an athletic shoe, but the shoelace according to the present invention is not limited to the athletic shoe. For example, the shoelace according to the present invention may be applicable to all shoelace-type shoes including general shoes, military shoes and the like.

So as to tie the shoelace 100 to the shoe 10, first, the intermediate portion of the shoelace 100 is located between the lowermost two eyelets 11 a among the eyelets 11 (or hooks) formed in two rows on the instep portion of the shoe 10.

Next, both end portions 120 and 130 of the shoelace 100 are passed longitudinally and transversely between the neighboring eyelets 11, and after passing through the two uppermost eyelets 11 b, both end portions 120 and 130 are knotted to each other.

As mentioned above, a knot 100 a includes two ring portions 100 b and two linear portions (which are left-over end portions) 100 c, and each ring portion 100 b is divided into a portion 100 b-1 corresponding to the portion inserted into the eyelet and a portion 100 b-2 corresponding to the linear portion 100 c.

When the knot 100 a is formed through the two ring portions 100 b and the two linear portions 100 c coupled to each other, and in this case, each ring portion 100 b is divided into a portion 100 b-1 corresponding to the portion inserted into the eyelet and a portion 100 b-2 corresponding to the linear portion 100 c.

The identification portions 122 and 132, which are formed on the given regions of both end portions 120 and 130, are located to correspond to the portions 100 b-1 inserted into the eyelets, so that they can be located at the portions needed to be pulled during the shoelace 100 is knotted or when a knot 100 a is tightened again after becomes loose.

On the other hand, the identification portions 122 and 132, which are formed on the given regions of both end portions 120 and 130 of the shoelace 100, are located at the portions 100 b-1 corresponding to the portions inserted into the eyelets of the two ring portions 100 b.

So as to rigidly tighten the knot 100 a after the shoelace 100 has been knotted, the identification portions 122 and 132 in the two ring portions 100 b of the knot 100 a are visually checked, and next, the portions 100 b-1 on which the identification portions 122 and 132 are formed are taken and pulled outwardly from the shoe 10.

Accordingly, an unexpected situation wherein the portions 100 b-2 corresponding to the linear portions 100 c are pulled to cause the shoelace 100 to be untied again can be previously prevented.

Referring to FIG. 6 showing the tightening state of the shoelace, that is, the knot 100 a is formed of the two ring portions and the two linear portions coupled to each other, and thus, the portions of the shoelace 100 needed to be pulled during the shoelace 100 is knotted or when the knot 100 a is tightened again after becomes loose can be visually checked easily by the user through the identification portions 122 and 132 and thus pulled by him or her, thus preventing the shoelace 100 from being untied again.

In this case, the positions of the identification portions 122 and 132 are appropriately adjusted in consideration of the whole length of the shoelace 100, the number of eyelets 11 and the length of the shoelace 100 corresponding to the eyelets 11, that is, the length of the tied portion.

That is, the positions of the identification portions 122 and 132 are adjusted to allow the portions on which the identification portions 122 and 132 are formed to be located at the portions 100 b-1 corresponding to the portions inserted into the eyelets of the two ring portions 100 b of the knot 100 a.

Further, the portions 100 b-1 corresponding to the portions inserted into the eyelets are formed to allow the regions needed to be pulled in the process of forming the knot 100 a to be distinguishedly checked.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a shoelace according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a shoe to which the shoelace of FIG. 4 is tied, wherein a shoelace 100 having an auxiliary identification portion 111 formed on the center thereof is tied to the shoe 10.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the shoelace 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as that according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, except that the auxiliary identification portion 111 is formed on the center of the shoelace 100.

Through the auxiliary identification portion 111, both side lengths of the shoelace 100 can be easily adjusted, without any separate endeavor.

That is, both end portions 120 and 130 of the shoelace 100 are passed longitudinally and transversely between the neighboring eyelets 11.

At this time, the auxiliary identification portion 111 formed on the center of the shoelace 100 is located accurately between the two lowermost eyelets 11 a of the shoe 10, and next, both end portions 120 and 130 of the shoelace 100 are knotted and tied.

Accordingly, both side lengths of the knotted portion of the shoelace 100 are equal to each other through the auxiliary identification portion 111, thus forming the balanced knot 100 a of the shoelace 100.

While the present invention will be described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiment but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. 

1-5. (canceled)
 6. A shoelace that is passed through a plurality of eyelets formed on a shoe and then knotted on both end portions thereof to form a knot having two ring portions and two linear portions coupled to each other, the shoelace comprising identification portions formed on given regions of both end portions thereof in such a manner as to be located at the portions needed to be pulled on the two ring portions of the knot during the shoelace is knotted or when the knot is tightened again after becomes loose, the identification portions being visually checked. 